Book picks similar to
Clear Sky by Patrick G. Laplante


fantasy
cultivation
wuxia
progression-fantasy

Power


Aaron Oster - 2019
    Without the power to channel the Essence of the world, he is weak and defenseless. Adopted into the Shah clan after his parents' deaths, he is forced to do menial labor day after day, all while enduring the ridicule and physical abuse of his supposed family. Weakness is punishable by death in Buryoku and in the Shah clan, there is no one weaker than Roy. But even the weak can rise up, when pushed to the brink…

World of Beasts


Tinalynge - 2018
    These beasts were ferocious, bloodthirsty and overwhelmingly powerful, but even so, the humans managed to prevail in the face of despair. As the human race grew stronger the Primordial Beasts fought back with relentless fierceness, rousing beast hordes to engage in frenzied battles over the land. Every single child on the continent was taught martial arts for the sake of fighting these Primordial Beasts, yet many of them were sent straight to their death. In this world filled with constant battle, a young boy was born. This young boy was hoping to become the most outstanding cultivator, but who would have thought that his talent was so poor that he could not even cultivate? As the boy was filled with despair over his unfortunate situation, a life changing event occurred which would forever leave a scar in his mind, pushing him to transcend his limits and grow to become a legend.

Reincarnation


Michael Head - 2021
    A man fated to destroy it. There’s a prophecy to ignore.Jim was thrust back in time, returned to his body at the moment he started cultivating. Anyone else might have given up, but Jim doesn’t have that option. He’s already made the mistakes that doomed him in his first life, and he knows what to do to make it right. Jim wants to right the wrongs of the past… or, future? All while a pair of angry gods torture him through lack of sleep.He must find a way to reach the top of the cultivation world without drawing the attention of those who would take his knowledge of the future for themselves. Jim has seen how the world ended, and he is determined to fight his way through the world’s hidden foes and defeat his destiny.Weakened to merely a shadow of his former strength, he quickly learns that fighting alone may not be his best option, even though fate seems to like it that way.Luckily for the world, Jim thinks fate is stupid. He doesn’t care what it wants.

Early Years


TurtleMe - 2016
    However, solitude lingers closely behind those with great power. Beneath the glamorous exterior of a powerful king lurks the shell of man, devoid of purpose and will.Reincarnated into a new world filled with magic and monsters, the king has a second chance to relive his life. Correcting the mistakes of his past will not be his only challenge, however. Underneath the peace and prosperity of the new world is an undercurrent threatening to destroy everything he has worked for, questioning his role and reason for being born again.

Sundered Soul: A Wuxia/Xianxia Cultivation Novel


Rick Scott - 2019
     Kenji’s only dream in life is to become a great rebirther like his father. But with no talent for the mystic arts, the age-old tradition of cultivating essence by returning things to their newborn state, to grow a second and third time, is far beyond his grasp. Worse still, he is yet to be rebirthed himself and stands a dullard of a giant among his diminutive peers. Relegated to working the orchards as a common laborer, Kenji settles into a life of lowered expectations; with no chance for advancement and no chance of pursuing the woman he loves. But when a mystic warrior from a distant land enters his village, pursued by a powerful demon, Kenji discovers a truth about himself that will not only question who he is, but perhaps everything he can become. With a chance to make his dreams come true, Kenji must choose between following the fate laid out before him…or defying the heavens to forge his own path. Doing so will mean finding a way to cultivate and fighting powerful enemies to protect the ones he loves, but failure could mean the very fall of the heavens themselves. Join Kenji as he uncovers the fate of the Sundered Soul… Sundered Soul is book one in the new Wuxia/Xianxia series by bestselling LitRPG author Rick Scott. If you’re a fan of Asian cultivation stories like the Cradle Series, martial arts fantasy and Japanese style Xianxia such as Princess Mononoke, Samurai Shodown and Sekiro, then this is the book for you! Read Sundered Soul today! Note: Contains mild gamelit elements, no Harem, and no harsh language.

Prodigies


Apollos Thorne - 2021
    It challenges all to ascend.Long Chao is the son of a hedge mage—a heretic cultivator. He doesn’t cultivate for power, but to satisfy his endless curiosity.One fateful day, Xiao Huifen, a girl aiming to be the youngest Sky Realm cultivator in the Monolith continent’s history, crashes into his life. She’s from the world of top-ranked sects and strict cultivation methodologies.They share nothing in common except for the unquenchable desire to unlock heaven’s every mystery.This is their journey.However, the brightest glory casts the darkest shadow.Strength begets brutality. Long-life begets the foulest perversions.To those who dwell in the darkness, young cultivators such as them are nothing more than some of the finest resources.To use them as slaves. Refine them into pills.When faced with such depravity, this unorthodox pair must do all they can to survive. Even if they do, how can they hope to remain unchanged?

King of Gods Book I


Fast Food Restaurant - 2017
    Coming from a small side branch of the main family sect, with only his deep commitment to hard work and perseverance to set him apart enough to allow him to be sent to the main sect for training, his prospects weren’t great. However, his left eye accidentally merging with that of an Ancient God’s changed all that in the space of a heartbeat! Suddenly Zhao Feng developed powers and abilities beyond what he’d ever dreamed, and only his imagination (and his own arrogance) could limit his potential. Will he walk the path of a great cultivator and become one of the foretold legends or will he burn up from the heat of his own glory? Will he remain a mere fish, or become the dragon his god’s eye foretells? Find out in this first installment of King of Gods

Warrior Reborn


M.H. Johnson - 2019
     Even if it meant being frozen alive. And if his cortex got uploaded into a digital universe filled with countless worlds to explore until a cure could be found for his cancer, all the better. The last thing he expected was to wake up naked and alone in the bowels of an ancient ship filled with raiders carrying enough poison to kill an entire city! The choices he makes from that moment on will have profound consequences not only for his own fate, but for an entire realm as he faces down bloodthirsty pirates, ruthless cultivators, and fearsome demigods while taking his first steps along a path of power that might one day forge him into a cultivator strong enough to challenge the very heavens themselves! Eager for a fast-paced Wuxia/LitRPG adventure filled with deadly adversaries, exotic adventures, and mighty cultivators fighting for the power to topple kingdoms? Then read on!

Monsters and Legends


Ivan Kal - 2021
    He became a respected leader, a shining example of what it meant to be good. But as the world ended, he had only one thought: to punish the monster that had killed the world long before the Framework ended it. Yet not even with his incredible power was he able to stand against the World Ender. His arrival in the new realty, the Infinite Realm, gives him the chance to grow stronger, to find the monster again—and make it pay.Ryun survived the chaos after the arrival of the Framework by pushing harder than anyone else. He grew in power until he became the most powerful being that had ever walked the planet; but he is hated by the world, called a monster by all others, the World Ender. As the world ends and he steps into a new one, where people stronger than him have lived for centuries, he finds himself lost and without purpose. The only thing that had mattered to him had been lost to him long ago. He truly was the monster that people considered him to be, and he now finds himself wondering if this new reality has a place for someone like him—but he had never been one for lying down and dying without a fight. One world fell to his power, and another might follow.WARNING: This book contains RPG mechanics and tables, cultivation, profanity, gore, mature themes, unconventional morality, and multiple complicated main characters. This story follows several main characters, both male and female, who are introduced into the story at different times. This story is a mix of LitRPG and Xianxia, and it will have Classes as well as Cultivation systems.. It also takes place in two timelines (the past chapters are not the main focus, only an addition).Author's note:This story is the e-book version of my webserial.

Stone Will


Kirill Klevanski - 2019
    Klevanski the #1 author on the 4 biggest self-publishing sites in Russia.The author has been writing the story for only three years, however, it already has 1500 chapters spanning 19 books. The whole story is planned out and will have over 2000 chapters and 22 books.Right now, "Dragon Heart" is being translated into English and published chapter by chapter on several American sites. Within a month, the story became popular with the foreign readers and caused quite a stir. On Royal Road, it currently holds the #2 spot in trending fictions and has gathered almost 2000 followers. On Creative Novels, it's being followed by over 1500 readers. Webnovel received the book warmly and the readers are eagerly waiting for new chapters. I hope you'll like my story, too. Blurb: he was born anew in a world where martial arts were indistinguishable from magic.He’d only received a neuronet and meaningless desires from his past life.What lies ahead?He’d dreamed of adventure and freedom, but those dreams were taken away from him.The same way his mother, father, and sister had been taken away.They took his Kingdom, they even took his destiny.But he is willing to wage a war, against the whole world if need be, to bring everything back.Even if a whole army opposes him, his sword won’t waver.Even if the Emperor sends entire legions against him, his step won’t falter.Even if demons and gods, heroes and villains alike, unite against him, he won’t bend to their will. His own will is iron itself, unstoppable.His name is Hadjar and he heeds the call of the dragon heart within him.This novel contains uncensored scenes of battle that may or may not include depictions of violence and gore. Read it at your own risk.P.S. If the aforementioned reasons aren’t enough to get you to read this story, there are also many great illustrations in the book.

He Who Fights with Monsters


Shirtaloon - 2021
    At least, Jason tries to be heroic, but it's hard to be good when all your powers are evil.He’ll face off against cannibals, cultists, wizards, monsters...and that’s just on the first day. He’s going to need courage, he’s going to need wit, and he’s going to need some magic powers of his own. But first, he’s going to need pants.After cementing itself as one of the best-rated serial novels on Royal Road with an astonishing 13 million views, He Who Fights with Monsters is now available on Kindle.About the series: Experience an isekai culture clash as a laid-back Australian finds himself in a very serious world. See him gain suspiciously evil powers through a unique progression system combining cultivation and traditional LitRPG elements. Enjoy a weak-to-strong story with a main character who earns his power without overshadowing everyone around him, with plenty of loot, adventurers, gods and magic. Rich characters and world-building offer humor, political intrigue and slice-of-life elements alongside lots of monster fighting and adventure.

Ji Clan of Swallow Mountain


我吃西红柿
    Wracked by illnesses and infirm his entire life on Earth, Ning knew early on that he would die as a teenager. What he didn’t know was that there really was such a thing as life after death, and that the universe was a far larger place than he thought. A lucky twist of fate (one of the few in Ning’s life) meant that Ning was reborn into a world of Immortals and monsters, of Ki Refiners and powerful Fiendgods, a world where Dynasties lasted for millions of years. A world which is both greater…and yet also smaller…than he ever could imagine. He would have the opportunity to join them, and in this life, Ning swore to himself, he would never let himself be weak again! The Era he was born into was a Desolate one, but Ning would make it his era.

Initialization


From Hell - 2021
    Every person without exception.But this new world with all its opportunities and gifts of wondrous abilities, was a stadium. A deadly arena of an unimaginable scale. And Humanity were to be its latest gladiators. Every man, woman and child was given a weapon and ordered to fight. Stuck in this dimension without a way out, only two options existed for the would be hunters: Fight with monsters to complete the many trials ahead, or perish.Faced with hordes of powerful monsters, thrown into battle with complete strangers at random, the unfair game of survival began. And from the very beginning, billions of lives were extinguished in mere moments. But even within this abyss of despair was a small ray of hope: If even one person were to complete every raid, then humanity would be redeemed and restored back to its former glory.No save points, no revives, no retries. Everyone had just one life to make their way through the gauntlet of raids prepared to test their mettle. Within this marathon of death, one man becomes aware of an exception to the rules of the game.

The Dao of Magic #1


Andries Louws - 2018
    But seriously though, I'm sitting on a mountain so far away from civilisation it might as well be the godforsaken arse of the world and these control freaks still won't leave me alone. I'm about to ascend and can't wait to leave this crapfest of a planet. Turns out, the powers-that-be decided that an unaffiliated rogue like me is too big of a risk to let run around free. So they sent all the sect-, organisation- and churchmasters, hidden Dao protectors and other bigshots my way to kill me. This failed, obviously. I managed to ascend in a glorious shower of divine power and ascend, after which someone else managed to bitch slap me to another dimension altogether, unfortunately. Long story short, I just woke up in a valley watching some critters murder each other while trying not to freak out about how bad it smells here. Soo… where the fuck am I? Why is that deer fighting a feathery squirrel? Why am I teaching this baby rabbit saved from a cannibalistic mother how to kick beings in the face with the power of qi? Fuck it, let's just kidnap some clueless kids and teach them the wonders of the supernatural power called qi, alright? Come join Drew as he adventures across a rather primitive medieval, low magical fantasy planet while trying to regain his status as a cultivator who spits in the face of the heavens and the earth.

Awakened


C.M. Carney - 2020
    Progression. Ascension. On the world of Crucible, where humanity’s spiritual artists train to fight in a war of universal proportions, Aryc Tal Venn has the potential to be one of the gods.But when he accidentally unleashes heretical powers during his Challenge, he is forced to flee his home or face the wrath of the Inquisition. With his sister by his side, Aryc begins a quest to uncover the truth of his own existence. Only to discover a terrible secret.A secret with the power to destroy humanity. Will Aryc master his unnatural powers in time to save the people of Crucible or will he be the harbinger of humanity’s destruction?Awakened – Book One of The Quintessence: Crucible is the first novel in a new epic LitRPG cultivation universe by C.M. Carney, author of the The Realms that began with Barrow King.The book is full of Qi cycling, measurable power progression, immortal gods, intriguing characters, deadly mysteries and universe shattering threats. It is perfect for all fans of progression fantasy, including lovers of LitRPG/GameLit, western cultivation, wuxia and xianxia.